Briefly Noted: Politics Inside, Ignore as Necessary

I don’t do politics, you guys know that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t
keep an eye on it. But it’s the weekend (I’m off the clock?) and
there’s something coming down the pike that I hope all of my American
friends know about and understand:SOPA. Dubbing
the Stop Online Piracy Act, this legislation grants super-citizen,
super-government rights to creative rights-holders. Super as in no
other citizen or government entity has the same abilities as would be
granted. (My thoughts about corporate citizenship aside.)

Thing is, I love the internet. In (almost) every way, shape and form.
I love the complete and utter freedom it provides. It is, at the same
time, the most dangerous and liberating… thing?… the world has
ever seen. Anything that’s affected the world in the last 7 or 8 years
has been influenced in some way by the unfettered communication that
happens on the ‘net. Everything. And that influence will only grow.
Our jobs as PIOs will be completely different in two years than they
were two years ago; no, than they are now. Because of the internet and
social media. And that’s a good thing (if more work for us, the PIO
Full Employment Act?).

Do people break the rules online sometimes? Of course. And sometimes
that’s a good thing. But
when it’s not a good thing, those bad things are generally covered by
existing laws. This legislation seeks to upend this balance by
assuming that all of the communication is bad until proven otherwise.

(I can’t believe I’m really going to post this.)

There’s a joke blog here in Philly about the Phillies baseball team,ZooWithRoy. It is, without a doubt, one
of the most puerile sites that I regularly read. MS Paint drawings and
made up words, the whole nine. Yesterday, for the first time that I’ve
seen, the author has given his soapbox over to someone to post on a
serious subject. And it’s the most plain, if long-winded, description
of the effects of SOPA that I’ve found. So, if you’ve got a few
minutes take a gander at the post
here.
(And don’t worry if you don’t get all of the ridiculous inside jokes.)
(And if you’re a Mets fan, hold your nose and read it anyway.)

Regular, on topic, posting with restart on Monday. Thanks for allowing
this digression.